Rose Tyler was in a slump. She'd been a slump for most of her life, actually.

Her childhood certainly wasn't the best. Lacking a father figure caused more problems than she could count; most of them directly involving her mother, Jackie. As much as Jackie Tyler loved her daughter, she wasn't an A+ mum for the first few years of her life.

Often Rose would find herself either next door at Ms. Tybalt's flat, feeding her dozen stray cats or watching some soap opera on the telly that she didn't understand, or she would be at home on her own. Jackie wasn't a bad mother; she really wasn't. She just struggled with the idea of being a single parent, so she went out a lot. Drank a lot, too; she wasn't proud of it, nor was she proud of some of the stories she'd tell her six year old as a result.

Of course, the lack of parental guidance directly impacted Rose Tyler on various levels. In primary school, it was a failure to grasp spelling and maths because no one ever made her do her homework assignments. In the upper levels, she cut school on many accounts to run around the city with her friends- and then she met Jimmy Stone.

Tall, blonde, and devilishly bad Jimmy Stone; he was the most attractive boy in Year 10, and Rose had fancied him for months before he noticed and asked her to go out with him. Without a second of hesitation or deliberation, she'd said yes- and that's when it all started to spiral downward.

First it was cutting classes. That was nothing new to her; she would often cut with Shareen to shop(lift), or just wander around and kill time. However, they never cut more than a few classes at a time for fear of really getting into trouble. Jimmy wasn't so fearful. He convinced her more than once to skip entire days with him to wander around the city, and it had been exhilarating. When Jackie found out, she was furious, and advised (more so ordered) her daughter to break things off with the boy. Rose, after shouting various statements about how Jackie couldn't tell her how to live her life since she hadn't cared for most of it, shut herself up in her room. Later that week, she ran away.

That was when things got really bad.

"Who needs rotten teachers and homework? We've got each other, babe," Jimmy had told her, pressuring her to forget about school altogether. Rose hadn't been particularly fond of that idea, but when Jimmy wouldn't stop pressuring her and threatening to break up with her for being a stiff she'd had no choice but to agree. After that, the two of them disappeared for a few weeks.

That was when everything went to hell.

Jimmy, upon realizing he could get her to do just about anything, got Rose to do more risky things; stealing bottles of booze as opposed to just a bit of lipstick, getting drunk under a bridge in the rougher side of the city, teaching her to smoke cigarettes. It hadn't been too bad at first; she hadn't seen the signs that her relationship wasn't a healthy one, because it was the only real relationship she'd ever had. When he told her he loved her, she thought that he meant it- but maybe she was just so desperate for love after her unsatisfying childhood that she had been willing to believe anything. So, when Jimmy pressured her to have sex with him, she gave in.

It was horrible. It had been painful, unsatisfying, and she felt sore and dirty after while he lounged back with a smug grin on his face. He'd then passed her a bottle of whatever he stole from the local liquor shop and told her to drink. She didn't know what else to do, so she did.

But there was something off in whatever it was. It made her feel sick, and lightheaded, and overall nothing like the buzz she was used to getting whenever he pressured her to have a drink. The next thing she'd known, Jimmy was on top of her again but she couldn't get him to stop. She couldn't move. He said horrible things to her, made her feel worse than she'd felt before, and then he left her in the dirty apartment he liked to call home.

Rose had known she had to get out. There was nothing right about what her "loving" boyfriend had done to her, but she was too scared to try to leave. That and she still felt sick. It took about another week and a half for her to escape, what with Jimmy beating her senseless whenever she tried to go out. When she finally made it back to her mother's flat, there was hardly anything to her. She was covered in bruises, had lost a quarter or more of her weight, and she looked nothing like the daughter Jackie Tyler knew and loved with all her heart.

Rose Tyler was only sixteen when she became the victim of a horribly abusive relationship, dropped out of school because of it, and ended up being verbally, physically, and sexually assaulted by the boy who she'd thought cared about her.

Now, at nineteen, she was feeling the repercussions. Because she lacked any sort of degree or diploma, the best job she could get was as a shop girl; which was a miracle given she and Shareen had been caught shoplifting at more shops than she could count. Aside from employment dilemmas, Rose found herself with a heaping pile of trust issues, as well. The only people she really trusted were her mother and Mickey Smith; the people who had been there for her after the Jimmy catastrophe.

She was certain this was as good as her life was going to get; bunking over with her mother, dating a childhood friend because the idea of a relationship with anyone new scared her, and dinner in front of the telly every evening. Nothing eventful happened to Rose Tyler anymore, and she liked it that way.

Then she met a man called the Doctor.

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Life certainly wasn't what it used to be. He remembered the old days as though they were only yesterday, when they couldn't possibly have been any further away from his reach. Figuratively speaking, of course; technically, he had any day that he wished to visit literally right there at his fingertips. But, despite all there was to see, he'd grown tired.

The Doctor remembered what it felt like to be full of life- to be happy. He remembered it fondly; always bouncing around with an insatiable taste for adventure. But after the Time War… he grew cold. Cold and closed off, and he liked it that way. The less he let the outside world in, the less he had to feel, and not feeling was a blessing. When all you feel is unrelenting guilt and anger, how can it not be?

He used to be such a good man; always helping, never harming. He used to be so merciful. No matter what the crime, he always offered second chances. Life was important to him; he liked to fix things. He hadn't chosen the name "Doctor" just for kicks and giggles.

Now, however, he was certain that man was dead, figuratively and literally. He had regenerated during the Time War, and all of that mercy and goodwill had died with his past-self. The Doctor had grown bitter and hard, and he was positive he would never feel happiness again- it was already growing foreign to him. How could he ever be happy when he had just murdered his entire species in cold blood? It may have been for the greater good, but that didn't change that he did it. He would never forgive himself.

Thus, because of his crime, he had vowed to continue helping. Even if he didn't get any joy out of it anymore, he needed to do something with his life. Nothing else made sense as recompense for destroying one species than saving hundreds of others. That was what he was destined to become; a savior. If only those grateful souls knew the truth about him.

Setting the coordinates in the TARDIS for his next destination, the Doctor had paused. After just finishing a rousing tousle on Raxacoricofallapatorius, he had planned on aiding in a New Earth war effort when a distress signal from the old version of the planet caught his attention. No- it couldn't be.

"The Nestene Consciousness?" he'd asked aloud, receiving a hum of confirmation from the TARDIS in the back of his mind. "Well, we certainly can't have that, can we?"

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When Rose Tyler went to work that evening, she didn't expect to have the place blown up by a strange man with big ears and an even bigger personality.

When the Doctor went to deal with a particularly pressing fleet of Autons, he didn't expect to find a young woman down there with him.

Neither of them expected any of it, but it happened and it propelled them forward on an adventure that neither of them saw coming. When he first set eyes on Rose Tyler, the Doctor hadn't expected her to be different at all from the other humans, let alone as different as she turned out to be. There was no word strong enough to describe this young woman other than absolutely fantastic.

No matter how brief and fleeting it may have been, this pink and yellow girl had awoken something in him that he'd thought was gone; elation. He was nothing short of elated when this brilliant, brave, smart, wonderful, fantastic girl managed to help him save the day, because he had been going it alone for decades now. He'd forgotten what it felt like to have someone to hug and cheer with, and it felt… good.

The Doctor had been wrong in his self-analysis; he wasn't just guilty and angry. He was lonely; painfully so. Saving planets and races and species held very little meaning if there was no one to truly share in the success with. But, as much as he wanted to have a companion along for his redemption journey; like the good old days; he knew that it would be wrong. He shouldn't be allowed to feel happy when he was a murderer. He was a monster; a criminal; a terrible, terrible man, and this girl was so… pure. Rose Tyler was everything he admired; she was everything he used to be. Witty, energetic, and so wonderfully full of compassion; she was deserving of the stars and all they had to offer. The galaxy needed a person like her looking out for it, not a person like him. So, despite his better judgement, he offered for her to tag along.

"You could… come with me."

Of course, she said no. It only made sense for her to say no. Rose Tyler was a sensible girl, and he was a madman with a box. A box she had seemed rather interested in, and might have stepped into if that bloke weren't clinging to her legs, but a box nonetheless. So, he left.

A few more decades passed and, while the guilt and pain and anger were still there, a few other things seemed to linger. Whatever Rose Tyler had awoken inside of him refused to go back to sleep and he was unsure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. He thought it might be a good thing in the sense that his curiosity seemed to sooth his unruly nightmares slightly. Instead of constant recaps of the Time War and his crimes, some of the Time Lord's dreams were filled with the pink and yellow girl and all of the places he could, and wanted to, take her. She would react with that same wide-eyed enthusiasm as his past companions, but there was something different in her, as well. Something he had noticed from the get-go.

Rose Tyler cared. She cared, so much, that it had to physically hurt her at times. She was the type of girl to give her jacket to a woman on the streets who had nothing, despite the fact that she wasn't incredibly rich herself. She was also the kind of girl to break up fights in the street or on the tube, even if it resulted in her taking a few blows as well. Rose Tyler was kind and brave, and she was unfailingly so. Even when she was afraid or wanted to shout, she persevered. Yet, while that set her apart, it wasn't what the Doctor immediately honed in on.

Rose Tyler was hurting. She was hurting, and she was lonely, and she felt that no one would ever understand the things she had done and that she had been through. How did he know? Well, he may have done a bit of a background check on her over the years… but that's beside the point. The point is that, while all of his companions had been brilliant, none of them had been quite so… relatable.

So, he went back. Thirty-six years, four months, and twelve days after disappearing, the Doctor reappeared back on that exact spot mere seconds after his departure for her.

"Did I mention that it also travels in time?"

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His subconscious had been correct; traveling with Rose Tyler was something new entirely. Everywhere they went, she cared fiercely for those who they met and fought with all of her might for their goodwill. The Doctor had expected that.

What he hadn't expected was for her to have such a profound impact on him. She had such a gentle heart that it shouldn't have come as a surprise that she developed a fondness for him, but he wound up beside himself with just how much she really did care. While he had technically known her for decades; memorized moments in her life and familiarized himself with everything that was Rose Tyler; she had barely known him for a month when the signs of her caring nature started to show.

It was the nightmares again. Now that he genuinely had Rose Tyler with him, there was nothing to mull over in his mind on the occasion that he did sleep; nothing but the guilt and the anger and the pain. Horrible dreams of fire and death and the screams of his people along with the metallic cries of the Daleks haunted him night after night, and he would wake up in a cold sweat and not sleep again for days until their endeavors utterly exhausted him and he had no choice.

The night after the fiasco in Salt Lake City was when she came to him. Rose had been up watching films with Adam and teaching him the ropes of the TARDIS, and she hadn't bothered going to bed when he did. She was the only person awake in the time ship, and it was a surreal feeling; one she wanted to enjoy for a bit. However, that plan hadn't lasted very long. She wasn't even five minutes into the film she'd put on when she heard it; the horrible cries coming from the Doctor's room.

Rose's bedroom was effectively placed far enough down the hallway; likely the TARDIS's doing; that she had never heard the sound before, and automatically jumped to conclusions, assuming he was in some sort of terrible danger. So, when she realized he was only having a fit in his sleep, she'd both been relieved and startled.

"Doctor… Doctor!" she had pressed, crouching down beside his bed and shaking his shoulder in an attempt to wake him up. When he did wake, he lashed out in his disoriented state with panic, effectively hitting her in the side of the head. It hadn't been hard enough of a hit to leave a mark, but it caught Rose off guard. She'd flinched at the impact and gave a little cry, and it was the sound of it that had fully drawn the Doctor back to reality. Upon realizing what he had done; and recalling the few details he had learned, and that she had told him, about her past; the Doctor was horrified. Without thinking, he'd jumped out of his bed and to her side on the floor, taking her in his arms to examine her with attentive gentleness that took her by surprise. No one had ever looked her over so carefully, except possibly her mother, and all the while he was muttering, "I'm sorry, Rose, I'm so sorry," over and over, causing her to melt.

She hadn't trusted a single man other than Mickey ever since Jimmy Stone.

She trusted the Doctor.

"Hey, shh… Come on, now… 's alright. 'twas an accident, yeah? I'm okay…"

At her assurance, the Doctor had pulled her in to his arms to hug her tightly; an embrace which she gladly returned. Rose Tyler felt safe when the Doctor's arms were around her, and it was an occurrence that was becoming quite frequent.

"Besides, I came in here to make sure you were alright… You were yelling and I heard, and I saw you having a nightmare… Do you want to talk about it…?"

The Doctor was quiet for a long time. He didn't want to get into the gory details of his dreams with someone as innocent and pure and lovely as Rose Tyler, but… she wanted to listen. She genuinely cared about his wellbeing and despite not pressing for information he doubted she was going to easily just let the subject drop.

So he told her; he told her everything. He elaborated on what she already knew, informed her of details that particularly plagued his mind, and let her hold him when he was done. It felt so incredibly good to let some of that pain and guilt go, to have her kiss his face through their mutual tears and listen to her whisper, "you're not a monster; you saved my life. You're not a monster, and you never will be…"

Something was changing between the Doctor and Rose Tyler. For the first time in centuries the Doctor was unsure of what was going to happen, and he knew only one thing for sure; that scared the hell out of him.

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Then there came Jack Harkness. Handsome Jack Harkness, charming Jack Harkness, dashing and daring Jack Harkness, good-dancer Jack Harkness; bloody Jack Harkness.

There was no denying that, wherever he took her, Rose drew the attention of men by the dozen. He wasn't the only one who noticed she was different, and the amount of people who did varied on what time period and/or planet they travelled to. People noticed Rose's fierce compassion and her charm and her beauty, and she hooked them with a simple smile and comment. She didn't even realize that she was capable of it, either. So, when Jack Harkness came along, the Doctor couldn't really say he was surprised; but he certainly wasn't pleased about it.

The main issue that he had was that Rose was showing genuine interest in this character. Sure, there had been innocent flirting between her and Adam, but it hadn't been very interactive and it ended far too quickly for anything to come of it. Jack Harkness, however, was much more forward than the young British genius had been.

He whisked Rose, his Rose, off of her feet and danced with her during the Blitz. Right in the middle of the bloody London Blitz!

The Doctor was angry; no, he was furious. Yes, that was it. He was jealous. Wait, no- no! No, not jealous; furious! Bloody hell…

This bloke could have easily gotten Rose killed, and then where would the Doctor be? Rose-less and alone, which were two things he didn't particularly fancy thinking about. But how could he possibly retaliate? This man was young, handsome, and witty; all things that women, even as independent as Rose, swooned over. Hell, even men swooned over Jack Harkness. The Doctor had just hoped that Rose had better sense than that.

So, when he stole her away for a dance at the end of their empty child adventure, it had been in her best interest. He was simply protecting his companion- his friend- from a ruthless lady-killer. He certainly wasn't jealous.

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Rose swore that the Doctor was jealous. It seemed like a ridiculous thought, but why else would he feel the need to keep her attentions away from Captain Jack? Not that she really planned to let the man have his way with her; she preferred to keep their relationship strictly friendship based, no matter how attractive he was. It was just in both of their best interests; especially with the Doctor breathing down the Captain's neck. It wouldn't have ended well for the ex-con man if the Doctor had heard of any scandalous activities occurring in his TARDIS.

Yes, that was likely all it was; he was just looking out for her. The Doctor didn't trust Jack, even if they had come to build a slightly rocky friendship. He put Rose above all else, so it only made sense for him to not want her and Jack to get too personal.

But that didn't really explain the after-hours dance lessons he had requested- or maybe it did. She just didn't know anymore.

"Oh, no- careful, watch it, that's my t-ow!"

Rose gave a little cry of pain when the Doctor treaded on her toe, and he gave her a sheepish, pitiful expression before dropping his hands to his sides. It was hopeless. Jack had disappeared hours ago to do whatever it is Jack did in the evening; the Doctor didn't want to know, and Rose had a fairly good idea; and thus the Doctor and Rose were at it again; dance lessons. He was determined to prove that he could be just as good as the Captain and, while Rose found it a bit endearing, her feet were quickly beginning to feel otherwise. While the larger man may have been excellent at swing dancing, more slow-paced choreography simply wasn't his forte. He was constantly stepping on her feet and turning the wrong way, and he began to feel more and more hopeless with each mistake he made.

"That's it- I'm done! Let Jack be better at it. I'm not going to crush your toes."

He crossed the control room almost sulkily, glancing at the screens in an attempt to appear busy, and Rose shook her head. Approaching him a moment later, she rested a hand on his arm, waiting until he met her gaze to speak.

"Give it one more go? That last one was better; you just stepped the wrong way. Keep that in mind this time round, and you'll be fine."

The Doctor hesitated, eyeing his companion uncertainly before heaving a heavy sigh and pushing away from the console.

"Fine, fine; one more. But that's it, and I mean it!"

She wasn't entirely sure when he was being so strict when this had all been his idea, but Rose shrugged nonetheless, nodding in agreement and offering him her hand.

"Alright, that's fair. Come on, then; it's getting late. We can't be doing this all night if we want to be in Cardiff tomorrow."

The Doctor had nodded in agreement before placing his hand in hers, hesitantly resting his hand on her waist as she placed her own up on his shoulder.

"Just remember the steps, yeah?" she coached him, giving his hand a little squeeze. "One step forward, two steps right. Then repeat, then turn, then two forward and one right."

Of all the things the Doctor could store in his brain, dancing shouldn't have been so hard to grasp. He was beginning to think it was being this close to Rose that was muddling his thought process…

…but that was ridiculous.

As if on cue the TARDIS started playing the music from the top again, and the Doctor took a breath before doing as Rose had instructed. One step forward, two to the right. One step forward, two to the right…

"See? You've got- oh!"

A little sound left Rose's lips when he turned her under his arm and then drew her back in, a bit closer than before, causing her to blink and falter. Huffing, the Doctor dropped his arms and shook his head.

"It's hopeless-"

"No, no!" she tried quickly- breathlessly. "It was my fault! I stumbled; you were perfect!"

He found it difficult to believe her, but he also found it difficult to not believe her when he saw the sincere look in her eyes. Blasted Rose Tyler and her blasted beautiful eyes…

Wait. When did he start thinking that her eyes were beautiful?

It was likely around the same time he started noticing that her hair smelled like her namesake from her shampoo and her fingers fit perfectly between his. He'd been noticing subtle little things about Rose Tyler for months now, and he couldn't get it to stop. The way her hair caught the second sunlight on Platoon; the way her laughter made him smile no matter what mood he was in; the way her curves all melted together and…

Oh, now that was just inappropriate.

Realizing she was staring at him, waiting for a response of some sort, the Doctor quietly cleared his throat and stepped forward.

"One more…?" he asked uncertainly, and she smiled at him with a nod.

One more try, and this time he planned to get it right. Mostly because, maybe if he was good at dancing, he'd get to be this close to Rose Tyler more often, smelling her hair and feeling her warmth and touching her skin and-

He needed to stop this. He needed to stop this now, before it got more out of his control than it already was. Rose was wonderful; Rose was fantastic.

Rose Tyler deserved better than a man who couldn't age, and who killed an entire species; his own species.

What he didn't realize was that, despite his certainty that she should have more, what Rose Tyler was quickly coming to realize was that all she wanted was him. Thus, when he managed to get the steps right this time around, it shouldn't have surprised him so much when she just rested her head on his chest and let the two of them sway around the console. She had to be able to hear his twin hearts beating like mad, but she didn't seem to mind; if anything, it seemed to help her relax.

Oh, bloody hell. There was really no sense in denying it, was there?

He was madly in love with this pink and yellow human girl, even if she couldn't possibly feel the same way about him.